There is something important to tell here since I have already been asked about it: SCVMM 2012 R2 doesn’t ship with an embedded SQL database, so you have to setup a separate SQL Server machine to host this functionality. The following list shows the SQL Server editions that are compatible with this version of VMM:

Now mount the SQL Server iso file (mine is named en_sql_server_2012_enterprise_edition_with_sp1_x64_dvd_1227976.iso). Before starting the actual installation, run SQL System Configuration Checker to be sure that everything is ok with your VM:

Once the Configuration Checker has finished, start the installation for real:

When asked for, choose the features we mentioned before:

Modify the instance root directory to reflect the partition you set up (should be G:\):

Specify the authentication mode to Windows Authentication Mode and specify the name of the SQL administrator:

Check that the data directories are properly set:

Wait for the installation to finish and you’re done with the SQL Server VM!

Fine, we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel: in the next post you will go through the prerequisites for the actual System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 R2 server installation. Stay tuned!